“I agreed to visit, just so she would leave me alone”
How the Neutral Zone worked its magic on long-time volunteer and donor Swanna Saltiel
Joni Muscovitz asked me to come in to Neutral Zone. She was a friend, but I said no, I couldn’t do one more thing. Joni insisted, saying, “I know you. This is you.” So I agreed to visit, just so she would leave me alone. I walked in, saw the place, talked with (then Executive Director) Lisa , and started to understand what it was about. I totally got it, and said to myself, “Oh, this is really important.”
I had three teenage sons at the time, and I never expected raising teens to be as hard as it was. I had spent the entire time since they were born providing opportunities for them. I thought about what we were going through and wondered about the young people whose parents didn’t even have resources we did.
We had so many kids in our house, and they were always seemed busy doing things together. They egged each other on and motivated each other. But when they were alone, my boys seemed to spend their time wishing they were with other young people, but not really having anywhere to go. When I saw Neutral Zone, I recognized it as that place for teens. I’ve been involved ever since.
Sometimes, I do start to feel burned out, and think, “I need to rest,” but then I have an interaction with a Neutral Zone teen that will keep me going for two more years — I’ll see one kid change, I’ll see a kid’s face, I’ll overhear kids making plans or practicing an instrument, and I’m instantly recommitted. I don’t want to stop.
Over the course of the years I’ve had great opportunities to see kids the first day or week they come in, and then to see them a month or so later, then a year later. I just have such deep conviction that what we’re doing makes a huge difference. I can see it in their faces, their postures, their eyes. It’s a beautiful thing to watch them develop skills, grow, and create a community for themselves. My job is to keep working to make sure we can meet their needs when they come through the door. Each one is different. So we have a lot of work to do, but it’s worth it. They’re worth it.